After 60 Years As A Nun — Spunky Sister Still Going Strong On East End

NORTH FORK, NY — They crowded into St. Agnes Church in Greenport, as always, for the usual Saturday night mass, which is spoken in Spanish — but on this particular September night, there was an even greater sense of joy and anticipation. The many whose lives she's touched gathered to surprise Sister Margaret Smyth of the North Fork Spanish Apostolate — who is marking 60 years of service to the church, and the vast community of residents she's helped along the way.

Sister Margaret, who was completely surprised by the party, which included food, laughter, and a beautiful cake, reflected on how being a nun has changed over 6 decades.

Now 78, Sister Margaret first began her life in the convent at 17, reflected Saturday on how times have changed.

"I wore a habit back then," she said, "I was a teacher in an elementary school. We never went out, and when we did, it was two by two. I left maybe only three times a year in the beginning to visit my family."

But in the years since, "Things have changed radically," Sister Margaret said.

Now, dressed in a skirt and blouse, Sister Margaret said she's able to go out into the community and talk to the people she's dedicated her life to serving. "Imagine if you couldn't go into their houses?" she said.

A changing world has made it more difficult for many to embrace their faith, Sister Margaret said. As she spoke to a Patch reporter, two young men walked up to apologize for missing Sunday mass because they had to work.

"I tell people that have to work on weekends, mass is held every day. Make believe Tuesday is Sunday," she said.

Of the party, she said, "I didn't know a thing about it. I'm was very touched."

But even at 78, Sister Margaret has no intention of slowing down. She plans to continue serving, "until I don't have the energy or the desire." Which, based on her fierce track records, seems like she will continue her work forever. "I'm one of those Energizer bunnies," she laughed.

A spunky spirit

At a Southold Town Democratic Committee breakfast Saturday, during which Sister Margaret discussed the abuses immigrants sometimes suffer, with employers who refuse to pay, the feisty nun said she was in Southold Town Justice Court just this week, taking some of those employers to task in regard to unpaid wages.

"We won. I have a 100 percent track record," she said. "But the other side of that is no one ever said when you go to court, you can collect."

That said, the spirited Sister said she'd have no qualms about publicly outing an egregious employer who refuses to pay his immigrant employees. "I would put up a sign saying, 'Do you know your neighbor never pays his employees?' I'm all for that kind of stuff, even though I'm a nun."

Many, including Debbie O'Kane, who is running for a seat on the Southold town board, sang Sister Margaret's praises at the breakfast.

"You are just a dynamo," she said.

Others have praised Sister Margaret's 60 years in the religious community.

"Sister Margaret is a beacon of hope for an inclusive future that includes not only the Hispanic communities she works closely with, but all immigrants. She provides much more than service and referrals, and all with an ever-present sense of fun," said Dinni Gordon, who wrote "Village of Immigrants: Latinos in an Emerging America".

Margarito Gonzalez, who attends St. Agnes with Sister Margaret, was involved in organizing her surprise party.

"I was thinking about what she means to all the Spanish community around the North Fork. It feels like one of God's hands on our community," he said. "She is there for everything you need — it doesn't matter who you are, or where you've come from."

Sister Margaret, he said, has organized leadership classes to empower immigrants.

When he heard it was her 60th anniversary, Gonzalez said he and others decided to plan a celebration. "We knew we had to make a surprise for her, to let her know that she's special."

The mass included a special prayer for Sister Margaret, he said.

"She means a lot," Gonzalez said. "When you come here for the first time, you probably don't know anyone. You're in a foreign country, you don't speak the language, you're in the middle of nowhere — and she is just there."

Sister Margaret opens her hearts to all immigrants, including not only the Latino community but to newcomers from China, Japan, and many other nations, he said. "She just tries to be what they need at that moment. It's the only thing to do, because God tells us to do that for people. That's the way we try to be — and that's the way Sister Margaret is."

Nun dodging bullets

Indeed, Sister Margaret is a diminutive, white haired woman with dancing eyes who looks every inch a beloved nun who’s revered by scores whose lives she’s touched with her dedication to the downtrodden.

But the stories she tells — about teaching in a classroom with gunshots fired outside, of hiding under mattresses in a truck in the Dominican Republic after a coup, as she fled to the countryside with bullets raining around her — are conveyed with the strength of a gutsy woman fearless in her conviction to do whatever it takes to help the unfortunate overcome obstacles and challenges.

“I’ve led a very unusual life,” Sister Margaret said.

Sister Margaret, who runs the North Fork Spanish Apostolate, with offices in Riverhead and Greenport, works tirelessly to help the area’s swelling immigrant population with issues ranging from employment assistance, inadequate housing, education, unpaid wages, health issues, abuse in the workplace, and even the most basic tasks, such as guidance with applications and school forms.

Over the 20 years that she has been based on the East End — living for many years at the now closed Sacred Heart Convent in Cutchogue, Smyth has provided comprehensive services addressing the needs of immigrants, both legal and undocumented.

Sister Margaret serves as the lifeline for the local Latino community, working on a sea of assistance programs.

She can be seen in the woods and on the beaches of the East End, bringing food and help to the growing homeless population.

“It’s not just the Hispanic community,” she said. “We help anyone that walks through my doors. “If you can help a person’s life, in whatever way — it can be a simple thing, a piece of advice, or a really big thing, in some cases — it’s great, because you feel like you’ve had a little piece of shaping their future.”

Sister Margaret has faced her own personal challenges along the way — including a battle with cancer about 17 years ago.

“I’m fine now,” she said. “I’m too tough to go.”

Born to Irish immigrant parents in Woodside, Queens, Sister Margaret was surrounded by a religious family, including a priest and nuns. Throughout high school, her life’s mission became clear as she took a ferry on the weekends to wheel hospital patients to church on Sunday mornings.

She entered the convent at 17 years old. And 60 years later, she has never looked back.

Beginning her career as an elementary school teacher, the computer-savvy Sister stays in touch with many of her former students through Facebook.

Later, as an associate pastor of a parish in East New York, Brooklyn, she persevered despite the tough neighborhood. “Someone shot a guy through the head outside my classroom while I was teaching,” she said.

Despite the harrowing incidents, Sister Margaret said teaching offered great fulfillment. Teaching a “Great Books,” series, the nun, who once thought of being an actress, used drama and theatrics to engage her students — some of whom have told her she instilled their future love of reading.

Her Riverhead office is filled with young Latino mothers and babies, men looking for work, all manner of individuals seeking solace and advice, who line up early and fill her days.

Sister Margaret thrives on diversity and touches lives in every demographic corner. The Turkish men at her gas station call her “our sister,” and pump her gas.

“I have no idea if they are Christian or Muslim,” she said. “It doesn’t matter — we bond over humanity.”

In past years, Sister Margaret received a Lifetime Achievement award from the Suffolk County Commission of Human Rights. “It was very humbling,” she said, of the honor.

But others are not so modest in singing her praises. “She is the unspoken mayor of the North and South Forks,” volunteer Ellen Davis said in a past interview. “Her work is indescribable.”

Juanita Torres, who has worked with Smyth, added, “Any problem, she will solve it. She’s amazing.”

And, said Louis Valenzuela, who serves on the Suffolk County Commission, “Her actions are filled with caring. The work that she does has an impact not only on individuals, but on our society.”

As for Sister Margaret, she waves off the accolades modestly as she turns to the growing line of needy forming outside her door. Those she help give her gifts of the heart — inviting her to parties and dinners and bringing her presents from their homelands.

It’s the reciprocal love she shares with those whose lives she’s touched that keeps the still-going-strong Sister Margaret on course.“I have no intention of stopping soon,” she said. “I’m in good shape — and it certainly keeps me active.”

Courtesy photos of Sister Margaret Smyth's party.